Torture case defendant keeps guilty plea

PORT ORCHARD — A Silverdale man who had pleaded guilty to repeatedly torturing his teenage brother opted Tuesday to keep his guilty plea.

Brandon P. Gunn, 27, had considered withdrawing the plea just before sentencing last month, but after consulting with a new lawyer, he told Kitsap Superior Court Judge Anna Laurie that he would keep it.

Withdrawing his guilty plea would have rescinded an agreement with prosecutors and could have led to additional charges and longer sentences. Under the current agreement, Gunn faces up to 30 years in prison.

The couple stood accused of keeping the 13-year-old bound, gagged and locked in a basement for days, routinely whipping him, driving a nail through his hand and spraying him with rubbing alcohol and attempting to light him on fire.

She is scheduled to be sentenced Friday, but that hearing likely will be postponed. Brandon Gunn's new sentencing hearing will be Jan. 17.

Deputy Prosecutor Cami Lewis said the victim is living with his mother in Georgia.

"It's safe to say he is anxious to have this resolved," Cami Lewis said, adding that he will be dealing with "the fallout for the rest of his life."

Steven Lewis, Brandon Gunn's newly appointed public defender, said he had spent a dozen hours with Gunn going through records, listening to his side of the case and discussing the potential consequences of withdrawing the plea.

One of the risks was an even longer sentence, and that prosecutors would seek "an effective life sentence," Steven Lewis said.

Steven Lewis asked that the sentencing be held until Brandon Gunn's older brother, a sailor aboard a submarine, could attend.

Viviana Gunn could face slightly more time than her husband, as she has a criminal history, Cami Lewis said.

Viviana Gunn has two children from a previous relationship who witnessed some of the abuse. Cami Lewis said those children are living with their father.

Dressed in green jail scrubs and sandals, Brandon Gunn answered questions with "your honor" and said "thank you" when Laurie adjourned the hearing.